Current Student Work

Political Science Students in Action

Politics is ever-changing in the fast-paced world that we live in. Adrian College political science students learn about democracy and democratization in order to better prepare them for future jobs in business, law or government.

While working as an intern for the Lenawee County Health Department’s Emergency Preparedness Division, Megan Vandekerkhove learned procedures taken to protect citizens and plan for potential crises, especially infectious outbreaks. It was her internship that was the catalyst for her 2013 Ribbons of Excellence presentation on The Ignored Threat: The Relationship Between Declining Public Health Funding and Increasing Vulnerability of Emergency Preparedness Capabilities. The presentation focused on how cuts in the budget affect the public health sector’s ability to react to outbreaks—and why the budget cuts are occurring in the first place.

Vandekerkhove presenting under the Ribbons of Excellence value Caring for Humanity and the World. Her mentor was Dr. James Hanley.

Timothy Verns Williams II looked to current events overseas for his 2013 Ribbons of Excellence presentation. He looked at data concerning aggregate rates of terrorist incidents in both Afghanistan and Iraq, insurgent enemy action (assessed in a quantitative manner) and enemy action examined in terms of media coverage. The correlations suggest that perceived success of the operation in question may not affect public opinion significantly. Williams also looked at terrorist incident rates to measure enemy action and concluded that future conflict would consist mainly of insurgent tactics.

Williams presenting “The Effects of Enemy Action on US Public Opinion Regarding War: A Quantitative Approach.” His mentor was Professor Philip Howe.